En 119 - Displacement

This class combines the theme of geographic change, including migration and immigration, with two literary questions. Why do novels of migration so often focus on a strongly marked central character? And why is that character so often lonely or isolated? Past readings have included Chinua Achebe's 'Things Fall Apart' (1959), Ottessa Moshfegh's 'My Year of Rest and Relaxation' (2018), and Charles Yu's 'Interior Chinatown' (2020). Those familiar with these novels will notice that, in our class, migration may mean international uprooting or some other profound change closer to home. Not offered 2025-26.